Jowell joins women players' call for equal pay at Wimbledon

The culture secretary, Tessa Jowell, will today call for the abolition of the pay differences between men and women players at the Wimbledon championship.

In a letter to be sent today - exactly one week before the competition starts - to the All England Lawn Tennis Club, which organises the event, the secretary of state for culture, media and sport will express "deep concern" over the gender disparity in prize money at the tournament.

Two months ago the French Open announced it would offer equal prize money to its men's and women's champions. The Wimbledon tournament is now the last major tennis championship which does not offer equal pay to the competition's winners. Supporters of the pay discrepancy point out that women play three-set matches rather than the longer five-set matches in the men's game.

But in her letter to the All England club's chairman, seen by the Guardian, Ms Jowell points out that the women's game has gained in stature and attracts equal levels of attention to the men's contest.

She writes that she is "deeply concerned at the ongoing disparity" between the money paid to male and female players. "Women's tennis has made great strides in recent years, becoming both highly competitive and extremely entertaining. Coupled with that, the media attention and levels of global sponsorship are now on a par with the men's game.

"It is anomalous than women receive less prize money than men and this fact is tarnishing the image of the championship. No other major tennis tournament pays its women's champion less than men and both the US Open and the Australian Open have a clear policy of equal pay. Nor does the gap reflect the society of equal opportunity that the UK has become in the 21st century." She adds: "I would like to join the chorus of voices across tennis urging you to consign this inequality to the past, and bring your prize structure into line with the rest of world tennis."

The women's champion will earn £625,000 this year, while her male counterpart will win £655,000.

The total prize money available for women's events at the tournament this year - £4.45m - is £750,000 less than the £5.2m pot for men. The gap has narrowed marginally since last year's championship, with the women's prize money increasing by 0.1% more than the men's.

The only competition where women and men will be rewarded with equal amounts is the mixed doubles, where winners will receive £90,000 each.

No members of the All England Lawn Tennis Club board were available to comment last night, but the chairman, Tim Phillips, has previously suggested that women who reach the quarter-final stage of the tournament were paid more than their male colleagues. "We could respond to the pressures and do something that would be fundamentally unfair to the men, but we have not," he has said. A spokesman for the club said the chairman's attitude had not changed.

In April, three-times Wimbledon champion Venus Williams threatened to strike over the issue.

"We want to be treated equally as the men," she said. "This is not just about women's tennis but about women all over the world ... We are willing to be extremely proactive in our stance."